profits at 1.1 billion – Corriere.it

Diversification appears to be working and translates into increased profitability. Poste Italiane’s results for the first half of the year show growth in all the main areas of activity of the group led by Matteo Del Fante, which closes the halfway point of the year with revenues of 3 billion euros (+8% on an annual basis) and a net profit of 1.1 billion (+16%). An important contribution to the performance of the accounts comes from financial services, with a 25% increase in profits supported by growth in the collection of postal savings, collection and payment services and savings management. The total value of funding in the first half of the year reached 580 billion euros, i.e. 4 billion more than in December 2022.

Parcels and payment services

The accounts approved by the board of directors, chaired by Silvia Maria Rovere, are also driven by mail, parcels and distribution services, growing in terms of net profit by 118% also thanks to the capital gain of 108 million euros generated by the increase in the stake in the German shipping company Sennder Tech. In terms of insurance services, revenues show a drop of 10% in line with expectations, but the six-month period records a recovery in premium income both in the life and non-life sectors. The flows of insurance services are extremely positive, especially when compared with the rest of the market, specific to Del Fante. The payment and mobile services activities keep pace, highlighting a leap in revenues (+37%) and net profit (18.9%). The growth derives from payments with digital cards (+31.5% in the half year). For Poste, the first part of the year was also characterized by the new offer linked to the supply of gas light, with 26 million in revenues and 300,000 contracts signed.

Forecasts

An overall picture that allows Del Fante, recently reconfirmed at the top of the company, to claim record results that exceed expectations. We are in line and perhaps a little ahead with the guidance, he says in response to financial analysts. We continue to follow strict cost discipline, which allows us to mitigate inflationary pressures, improve operating profit growth and achieve great confidence in the visibility of our 2023 guidance, explains Del Fante (watch the video of the manager’s speech). The six-monthly second to the number one of Poste is proof of the solidity of the performance in all our business sectors. This half-yearly was an opportunity to take stock and look at where we started from: we had chosen certain market areas where we saw growth and we positioned ourselves, he underlines, adding that the market and time have proved us right, our strategic choices were correct. Now we have another three years ahead of us, we have already been working intensely for two months on the next plan, which will be phase two of the Deliver 2022 plan, presented in 2018.